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Epiphone Wildkat Metallic

A great-looking Epiphone that's a little bit rockabilly, and a whole lot more…

Epiphone's latest limited edition semi has more than a hint of a certain Mr Setzer about it, with the familiar Wildkat model given a lick of metallic red paint evoking fifties Americana.

Chrome Alnico P-90s and a Bigsby are anchored to a semi-hollow mahogany body with a substantial centre block, maple top and a set maple neck.

Although we had some initial tuning concerns, re-stringing with a heavier set of strings – in this case 0.012-0.056-inch – settled things down and seemed to compliment the general vibe.

The old-school chrome Epiphone badge on the headstock didn't sit quite ?ush to the headstock facia and rattled as a result, but this didn't come through the ampli?er, so only proved to be a minor irritation.

Sounds

Select the neck pickup, add a dash of overdrive and a pinch of reverb to taste and the result is a sumptuous smoky electric blues tone.

Flip to the bridge and there's more bite, although the overall tonality remains muscular and Gibson-like, despite the guitar's aesthetic nod to Gretsch.

Open tunings in combination with the bridge pickup proved to be a great platform for slide, with the Bigsby vibrato facilitating ghostly shimmers.

The solid centre block does a great job preventing unwanted feedback and the Wildkat remains reasonably well behaved even when treated to an excess of drive, although there's a raucous edge throughout that screams rock 'n' roll.

MusicRadar Rating

3.5 / 5 stars

Pros

A high quality, versatile palette of sounds from a cool looking instrument.

Cons

Rattling headstock badge. Tuning stability not always rock solid.

Verdict

This is a great looking instrument that sounds as valid for modern alternative rock as it does rockabilly.

Available Finish

Back Material

Body Style

Bolt-on Neck

Case Included

Cutaway

Fingerboard Material

Fretless

Guitar Body Material

Mahogany

Hardware

Chrome

Includes Bag

No

Inlays

Dot

Left Handed Model Available

No

Neck Material

Maple

No of Strings

6

Pickguard

No

Phantom power

No

Pickup Type

2 Alnico V P90's

Tremolo

No

Review Policy

All MusicRadar's reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world.